Categories

Searching with the "limit to" checkboxes

When we opened the can of worms that is asking users "what doesn't work well?", we received hundreds of comments which we dilligently categorised, factorised, summarised, memorised and theorised about. One of our categories was called "limits". We ended up with close to 20 pieces of feedback on the "limit to" checkboxes. A common theme to the feedback in this category was that these limits sometimes missed records they should have included, and that "they are only as good as the catalogue records". The latter statement is exactly right! These limits check the coded fields like ldr/06 and 008, so if the record hasn't been correctly coded as a conference or a map, how can our limits find it?

Sometimes there is a way...

Instead of sticking to lovely, simple rules (like checking if 042$a = anuc to find Australian records for example), we have decided to complicate these rules in the new service so that they pick up records that would otherwise be missed. Luckily for you guys, this all happens behind the scenes. Using these limits will continue to be as easy as ticking a box, but what goes on underneath will be a little more involved. Here are some of the changes we will be making.

Limit

Existing rule *

Additions to rule

Existing rule

New rule (estimated)

Australian

042$a = anuc

OR 043 starts with "u-at"
OR 082$a starts with 994, 919.4
OR Name, Publisher or Subject contain words or phrases from a specified list, including "australia", "new south wales", etc

* All rules involving Leader/06 or 008 also check for an equivalent value in 006.

In total, we have made changes to the rules for a dozen of the existing limits. We've also added three new ones and renamed some to be a little bit clearer. The full list of changes will be made available at a later date. Not every possible change has been included as some rules don't include many extra records and so would add unnecessary complexity. We have tried to make the limits work harder so that you don't have to.